Dec. 3--America needs a long-term plan to reshape the workforce with better training and improved salaries if the nation is to fully rebound after the recession, speakers told a conference of New Jersey government, business and union officials Tuesday.

Two economists said federal authorities should look beyond a mere stimulus plan and toward correcting deficiencies in the employment market that have hampered the economy for decades.

The comments came on the first day of the 2008 Governor's Conference on Workforce and Economic Development, whose 1,000 attendees include representatives of government, unions, faith-based groups and business.

State officials said the two-day Atlantic City conference was the first to bring numerous stakeholders from the employment sector together to focus on improving the employment climate.

Past, smaller events addressed employment issues without having all the key players at the same gathering, said Labor Commissioner David J. Socolow, whose department organized the event.

"Workplace development, people don't understand, is part and parcel of economic development," he said.

The theme was echoed throughout the day in panels on issues such as creating jobs through green technology, apprenticeship programs, helping the disabled in the workplace and state programs designed to boost private job creation.

William E. Spriggs, a Howard University economist, said that the nation needed to mount a sustained effort to create well-paid, middle-class jobs to replace the manufacturing jobs lost abroad.

He said the economic crisis grew out of the nation's slow household income growth of recent years, which prompted consumers to borrow more to maintain their standard of living. Consumer debt rose from $6 trillion in 2002 to $9 trillion in 2005, he said.

"Most of this was stealing money out of the equity of our houses," he said.

To help pay off the debt and avoid the same trap in the future, the nation needs a plan to create jobs at home, perhaps by investing in a sustainable energy industry, instead of buying so many goods abroad, he said,

"It's not a stimulus package we need," he said. "It's really a restructuring package."

Carl Van Horn, a Rutgers University professor and chairman of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, said he believes New Jersey may be somewhat sheltered from the worst of the recession.

He said 22 states have a higher unemployment rate than New Jersey, which benefits from an educated workforce, strong infrastructure and ready access to local and global markets.

But he gave a grim outlook for the nation as a whole.

"Today's economy is a nightmare. Millions are going to need help," he said. "It's time to build a rescue plan for American workers."

He predicted that unemployment may rise as high as 10 percent nationally and said the nation should create training programs to better prepare workers for the turbulence of the modern economy.

The employment market of today is far more volatile, and jobs less permanent, than in the past, when many job training programs were conceived, Van Horn said. Workers who lose their jobs today are jobless for far longer than 30 years ago, he added.

He said federal authorities should increase funding of the nation's workforce development and unemployment agencies. And employees in industries that are clearly on the decline should receive training before they are laid off, to enable them to make an easier transition.

Socolow echoed the sentiment.

"Jobs are changing so much that lifelong training is essential," he said. "People need to be always upgrading their skills to remain competitive in the workforce."

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